Revelation Space

by Alastair Reynolds

561 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 21, 2020

About the author

I'm Al, I used to be a space scientist, and now I'm a writer, although for a time the two careers ran in parallel. I started off publishing short stories in the British SF magazine Interzone in the early 90s, then eventually branched into novels. I write about a novel a year and try to write a few short stories as well. Some of my books and stories are set in a consistent future named after Revelation Space, the first novel, but I've done a lot of other things as well and I like to keep things fresh between books.

I was born in Wales, but raised in Cornwall, and then spent time in the north of England and Scotland. I moved to the Netherlands to continue my science career and stayed there for a very long time, before eventually returning to Wales.

In my spare time I am a very keen runner, and I also enjoying hill-walking, birdwatching, horse-riding, guitar and model-making. I also dabble with paints now and then. I met my wife in the Netherlands through a mutual interest in climbing and we married back in Wales. We live surrounded by hills, woods and wildlife, and not too much excitement.

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Honest Review

Not my favorite, but certainly up there in terms of an interesting read.

The touted master world building was just okay to me. Most of the story happens in two rather limited settings. We only get to intimately meet humans and cyborgs, not much else, even though there is such an emphasis on others being ALIEN. I guess I’m a bit spoiled when it comes to choices in space opera series.

Overall I’m glad I read it, and there’s definitely more to the story in case I’d feel the itch to pick something up. The author kept my favorite character alive, and it had an Odyssey 2001 feel ending, yet better. I’d give it 4.5 stars, but they made me choose between 4 and 5.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read this novel many years ago as well as several other stand-alone novels by Alastair Reynolds but not reading the rest of the Inhibitor Trilogy, I reread this in preparation for reading the following trilogy novels. This first novel in the author’s Revelation Space universe is an excellent space opera with a complex plot and fascinating characters. It involves the scientist Dan Sylveste who is investigating mysterious hidden artifacts called Shrouds, an archaeological story involving an extinct ancient civilization, the Amarantin, complicated by unrest and political coups, a nanotech plague, and the Ultras, who are people who pilot the space ships that travel just below the speed of light. Alastair addresses the speed of light limitation by having spaceships travel at near the speed of light and the crew (the Ultras) using a hibernation-type sleep to endure the decades that pass as they travel. This time effect figures heavily into the story and its resulting effects on the people and the planets they inhabit. Hints slowly reveal the secrets behind the Shrouds, the mysterious death of multiple ancient civilizations, and its cause.

[Ashok Boghani · Rating 3 out of 5]

This first book of The Inhibitor Trilogy is a complex tale of a scientist excavating the remains of ancient civilization on far way planet. Simultaneously, a lightship (a giant spaceship capable of going almost at the speed of light) is out there trying to find him and take him along for a mission. The lightship is managed by two cyborgs. They end up at a neutron star (or may be something that look like one) with an orbiting planet, made by an extinct civilization. The tale gets even more complex, and intertwined as it progresses, with complex science thrown in, real or not. This is a confusing beginning of a three-part tale that deals with Inhibitor, the entity that makes sure a rapid progress of a civilization is inhibited before it advances too far. While I marvel at the author’s imagination, I am not sure this is a series I want to pursue any further.

[Kurt Werle · Rating 1 out of 5]

So much world building. And I just didn't care. I made it about 20% through.

I felt like every scoop was 3/4 frosting, 1/8 stuff that might matter, 1/8 stuff that actually mattered. Reading to just scrape off 7/8ths of the content to get at the actual story just is not working for me.

This is the second book of his I've attempted. Moving on.

[Charles Kowalski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent space opera. Excited to read the next one!

[Peter Kovacs · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely magnificent

Absolutely incredible. The richness of the story, the vocabulary, and the world building. It’s one of the most captivating books I’ve read since Zahn.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mind blowing

Great book! And one of only three. Ending threw me for a loop. Which is awesome. Got to love a book that doesn't end the way you think it will.

[Michael F. Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning Epic

A tad slow to start, but a roaring end and some interesting speculation on science and the age of the universe.